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Antilia case: Pradeep Sharma plotted Mansukh Hiran’s ‘cold-blooded murder’

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The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has named dismissed police officer Pradeep Sharma as the ‘main conspirator’ in the “cold-blooded murder” of Thane businessman Mansukh Hiran, in its affidavit in the case pertaining to planting a SUV with 20 gelatin sticks outside Antilia, the home of industrialist Mukesh Ambani.

Aware of the entire conspiracy, the NIA told the Bombay High Court that Hiran was considered the ‘weak link’ in the larger conspiracy to terrorise the billionaire Ambani family, when the SUV was discovered on February 25, 2021, sending shockwaves across the country.

Opposing the bail plea of Sharma – nabbed on June 17, 2021 and currently in judicial custody – the NIA affidavit said he was not innocent and had committed offences of criminal conspiracy, murder and terror acts.

A division bench comprising Justice A. S. Chandurkar and Justice G. A. Sanap has kept Sharma’s bail plea — challenging the Special NIA Court’s rejection of his bail application in February 2022 — for further hearing on July 17.

“Pradeep Sharma was an active member of a gang that had conspired to terrorise people, including the Ambani family, and murdered Hiran as he was a weak link in the conspiracy,” said the NIA, adding that Sharma and other accused were charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for heinous and serious offences.

Hiran was aware of the entire conspiracy of parking the SUV outside Antilia that day and the accused (Sharma and co-conspirator and sacked cop Sachin Vaze) feared that he (Hiran) could spill the beans making it difficult for the duo to gather the fruits of the larger plot.

The NIA said that from the evidence gathered, it was crystal clear that Sharma was directly involved in the crime and committed offences of conspiracy, terrorist act, being member of a terror gang, kidnapping, murder and destruction of evidence.

It said Sharma willingly and intentionally entered into a well-organised criminal conspiracy for the execution of Hiran which was a direct outcome of the terror acts committed by Vaze and the other accused.

The NIA also claimed that Hiran was eliminated after he refused to take the blame for parking the SUV outside Antilia.

“When Hiran refused to take blame for the crime, Vaze hatched a conspiracy with Sharma and other accused to kill Hiran so that he does not divulge that Vaze was the one who parked the vehicle outside Antilia,” the NIA said in its affidavit.

The larger conspiracy in the case involved parking of the SUV, and circulating threat letters in the name of ‘Jaish-ul-Hind’ to terrorise the Ambani family and local people.

The NIA pointed out that after killing Hiran, the accused (Sharma-Vaze) attempted to show it as a suicide. Shockingly, Sharma had attended meetings in the Commissioner of Police premises where the alleged conspiracy was hatched.

As the main conspirator, Sharma hired henchmen to kill Hiran by paying Rs 45 lakhs he had got from Vaze, and after the murder, asked the co-accused to flee from Mumbai to Nepal.

The NIA argued that Sharma was famous as an ‘encounter specialist’, influential and if released on bail, he would tamper with the evidence and influence the witnesses.

Crime

Gujarat Police arrest three men from Mumbai in Rs 1.10 crore investment fraud case

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Surat, Sep 29: The Surat City Cyber Crime Branch has arrested three men from Mumbai in connection with an alleged Rs 1.10 crore share market investment fraud, with police finding that the bank account used in the case had been linked to complaints from multiple states.

The arrested accused have been identified as Rahul Rajak (27), Ashish Sonar (37), and Bhushan Sendane (34).

Police said Rajak allegedly created a firm in his name, obtained an Udyam certificate and opened a current account with IDFC Bank, which he handed over to Sonar for Rs 10,000.

Sonar allegedly passed the account to Sendane for Rs 30,000, while Sendane subsequently handed it to another accused for Rs 20,000.

According to the police, transactions worth Rs 2,41,03,506 were carried out through the current account between October 18, 2025 and January 9, 2026.

A check on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) found 29 complaints from different states linked to the account, involving alleged fraud of Rs 16,13,44,790 or about Rs 16.13 crore.

DCP (Cybercrime Cell) Bishakha Jain said, “The three arrested accused had together received Rs 60,000 as commission for facilitating the bank account.”

The case began after the complainant was allegedly contacted in the name of share market investment and promised high returns.

Police said the accused sent him an APK file of a fake Axis Bank application and falsely claimed to be calling from the bank’s customer care service.

The complainant was allegedly asked to download the application, create a demat account and carry out trading through it.

After the account was created, the complainant was instructed to transfer money to different bank accounts for trading.

Police said he transferred Rs 1,10,90,000, but when he later sought to withdraw his investment and the purported profits, the accused demanded additional payments towards withdrawal and other charges.

“The complainant was allowed to withdraw only Rs 5,000, while Rs 1,10,85,000 remained blocked, following which he realised that he had been defrauded,” police said.

A case was registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station under Sections 318(4), 336(2), 338, 336(3), 340(2), 61(2), 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008.

Police said efforts are continuing to trace other accused persons allegedly involved in the fraud.

The Cyber Crime Branch has appealed to people to be cautious of advertisements promising high returns through online share market investments and not to transfer money to unknown persons without verification.

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Crime

2021 Antilia bomb-scare: Mumbai court grants bail to ex-cop Sachin Vaze

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Mumbai, Sep 29: In the 2021 Antilia bomb-scare case, a Special NIA Court here on Tuesday granted bail to former cop Sachin Vaze but barred him from entering five districts, including Mumbai and Thane, till the recording of statements of key witnesses.

Special Judge Chakor S. Baviskar granted bail to Vaze, who is also a suspect in the Mansukh Hiran murder case, against a personal bond and surety of Rs 1 lakh each and directed him to surrender his passport, a lawyer said.

While offering relief to “former encounter specialist” Vaze, the Special NIA Court noted that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case of terrorism under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against him.

The bail was granted on the condition that the former cop Vaze will not enter the jurisdiction of Brihanmumbai, Navi Mumbai, Raigad, Thane and Palghar districts until the statements of key witnesses are recorded.

The court also directed the former Assistant Police Inspector (API) to provide his location information or the address of his proposed residence outside these five districts within seven days of the order.

The Special Judge said that Vaze will be required to report to his local police station every Sunday between 12 noon and 3 p.m. and share his location on calls/video calls with the NIA or the police.

The court noted that the gelatin sticks found in the car near outside Antilia – the residence of a top industrialist – without detonators did not prima facie constitute a direct terrorist act or a threat to the country’s economic security.

The court noted that no statement has been recorded from any victim or member of the family living in Antilia.

The Special Judge accepted Vaze’s plea seeking bail on the grounds of parity with other accused who had already been granted similar relief.

His lawyers pleaded that co-accused Pradeep Sharma and Sunil Mane had already been granted bail by the Supreme Court and the High Court, and on the grounds of parity, Vaze should also be granted bail.

Vaze had been in custody since March 13, 2021, and given the magnitude of the case (320 witnesses and a charge sheet of over 14,000 pages), the trial was unlikely to be completed soon, said his lawyer.

According to the National Investigation Agency, an explosives-laden SUV carrying a ‘threat letter’ was found parked near the multi-storey Antilia building in south Mumbai on February 25, 2021.

Businessman Mansukh Hiren, who claimed that the SUV had been stolen from his possession, was found dead in a creek in Thane on March 5, 2021. Vaze was arrested in the case a few days later.

The Special NIA Court framed charges against Vaze and nine others on August 1, 2026, paving the way for them to face trial under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and murder.

The NIA said that Vaze was involved in parking the SUV with the motive of terrorising wealthy individuals and extorting money.

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Crime

Two killed as speeding SUV hits e-scooter in UP’s Moradabad, driver flees

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Moradabad, Sep 29: Two men were killed after a speeding SUV collided with their e-scooter, sending it flying, in Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad on Tuesday, officials said.

According to the preliminary information, a speeding SUV struck the e-scooter carrying the two friends, resulting in a fatal accident. The force of the collision was such that the e-scooter was hurled away, leaving both riders critically injured. They later succumbed to their injuries.

Following the accident, police reached the spot and took the bodies into custody. The bodies were subsequently sent for post-mortem examinations as part of the investigation into the incident.

The driver of the SUV allegedly fled from the spot after abandoning the vehicle. Police have taken the SUV into custody and brought it to the police station for further investigation.

The vehicle is reportedly owned by Mohammad Naveed, a resident of the Civil Lines police station area. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the accident and are also working to establish the identity and whereabouts of the person who was driving the SUV at the time of the collision.

The deceased have been identified as Mohammad Rihan and Abuzar, both residents of Salempur village under the Kanth police station area of Moradabad.

News of the deaths left the families of the two young men devastated. Relatives and other family members were inconsolable following the fatal accident, while the families have demanded strict action against the person responsible for the crash.

According to Rihan’s family, he had been working in Dubai and was scheduled to return there, with his flight booked for October 1. The family said that he was the sole earning member of the household and that his father has been unwell.

A family member expressed anguish over the circumstances of the accident and demanded action against the SUV driver.

“The SUV rider may be a wealthy man, but what about them? The light of our home is gone,” the family member said.

The incident has once again raised concerns over road accidents involving speeding SUVs in Moradabad. Locals pointed out that this was not the first such incident in the district in recent days.

Just three days ago, an SUV allegedly hit an e-rickshaw that was parked on the roadside in the Kundarki police station area. The earlier incident also resulted in a fatality, adding to concerns over road safety and reckless driving in the area.

Meanwhile, in a road accident reported from Chandigarh earlier on Tuesday, an SUV being driven by a woman collided with a motorcycle near the bridge close to Dhanas Lake, leaving two people injured.

The two injured persons, who were travelling on the motorcycle when the collision took place, were subsequently taken to a hospital for treatment. Their condition was not immediately known.

Police took both the SUV and the motorcycle into custody as part of the investigation.

Police in both incidents are examining the circumstances surrounding the respective collisions.

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